(Last Updated On: June 12, 2025)
Sexual harassment is prohibited under state and federal law in Massachusetts workplaces. Under Massachusetts state law, employees who work for employers with six or more employees are required to have written policies against sexual harassment, and it is essential for employees to know that their employers can be liable for various forms of sexual harassment that occur. Under federal law in Massachusetts workplaces, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to workplaces where there are 15 or more employees. Title VII prohibits sex discrimination in employment, which includes sexual harassment. Under both state and federal law, sexual harassment is recognized as an unlawful form of sex discrimination. Generally speaking, sexual harassment can take two different forms, and both are unlawful: quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment harassment.
For employees who are trying to determine whether they are experiencing an unlawful form of sexual harassment such that they should seek legal advice, many examples often involve in-person work. However, since 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees in the Boston and Natick area have continued to work remotely or have adjusted to hybrid work schedules with several work-from-home days each week. It is critical for any remote or hybrid employees to know that unlawful sexual harassment does not only occur within in-person work contexts. To be sure, sexual harassment can happen in fully remote, as well as in hybrid, employment contexts. Our Massachusetts sexual harassment lawyers can explain in more detail, and we can speak with you today if you have any concerns about sexual harassment or want to find out more about filing a claim.
Sexual Harassment is Prohibited Whether it Occurs in Person or Remotely
Sexual harassment is unlawful and is prohibited by state and federal law, regardless of whether it occurs on an in-person basis or in remote or electronic contexts. In order for employees to have a clear understanding of what sexual harassment can look like when it occurs in remote-work contexts, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the prohibited forms of sexual harassment under state and federal law:
- Quid pro quo harassment is a form of sexual harassment that essentially means “this in exchange for that,” and it refers to a specific form of sexual harassment in which an employee in a supervisory capacity offers a benefit to another employee over whom the offeror is in a supervisory or managerial position in exchange for sexual favors. Quid pro quo harassment can take the form of something like an offer of a promotion or pay raise in exchange for sexual favors, or an “offer” for an employee to remain employed (and not to be terminated) in exchange for a sexual favor. The targeted employee must be the party to file a quid pro quo sexual harassment claim.
- Hostile work environment harassment involves any form of sexual harassment that a reasonable person would find to be intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or otherwise offensive. Hostile work environment harassment can be perpetrated by anyone in the employment context, from a supervisor to a co-worker to a client. This type of sexual harassment claim can also be filed by anyone affected, from the targeted employee to any other employee in the workplace who finds the workplace to be offensive and interfering with their ability to work or with their work performance.
It is important to know that sexual harassment that creates an unlawful hostile work environment can be of a sexual nature, but need not be in order to be unlawful. It can also include offensive comments about a person’s sex or about persons of a particular sex. Both quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment sexual harassment can affect in-person, hybrid, and fully remote employees.
Examples of Unlawful Sexual Harassment in Remote Work Contexts
Common examples of unlawful sexual harassment in remote work contexts include, but certainly are not limited to, the following:
- Quid pro quo harassment perpetrated via email, over the phone, or over Zoom;
- Offensive comments about a person’s sex, or sexually explicit comments, made over Zoom calls or other video work calls;
- Frequent remarks about persons of a particular sex over group work chat apps; and
- Sexually offensive visual materials hanging on a person’s walls on their Zoom or other video chat backgrounds during work calls.
Contact a Massachusetts Sexual Harassment Lawyer Representing Employees in Boston and Natick
Massachusetts employees who work remotely or on a hybrid basis can be subject to unlawful sexual harassment just as fully as in-person workers can be. If you work on a remote or hybrid basis and have been the target of sexual harassment, or if sexual harassment has created a hostile work environment, it is important to seek legal advice about your options. An experienced sexual harassment lawyer serving clients in Boston and Natick can speak with you today about filing a sexual harassment claim under Massachusetts or federal law. Contact Rodman Employment Law to learn more about the services we provide to employees in Boston and Natick, and to begin working on your sexual harassment claim. Our firm has years of experience handling sexual harassment cases, and we are here to assist you.
